Verb Tenses in English

Present Simple
Check this link to see how we form sentences in the Present Simple.

This tense has many different uses. We can use it to talk about a present situation or about a future situation.

● Facts which are always true or which are laws of nature

❏ The River Po flows into the Adriatic Sea.
❏ The Earth rotates around the Sun.
❏ It rarely rains in the desert.
❏ In democratic systems, citizens elect their authorities.
● Habitual or repeated actions; permanent states; daily routines
❏ He works at a hotel (permanent state)
❏ He deals with the booking system in the morning. (daily routine / repeated action)
❏ They drive to work. (daily routine / repeated action)
❏ They live in the outskirts of the city. (permanent state)

Future time

● To describe future events which we cannot control. They may be facts, such as events in a timetable, or a law
❏ Our bus leaves in ten minutes.
❏ The plane to London takes off at 6.30 am
❏ The next conference takes place in June.
● After time expressions WHEN, UNTIL and AS SOON AS a present tense form is used, although this refers to future
time.
❏ I’ll wait here until you get back.
❏ She’ll send a confirmation as soon as she has the o.k. from the authorities.

Present Continuous / Progressive

Present time

● Actions which are still in progress; actions taking place at the moment of speaking
❏ I can’t help you now. I’m doing the washing-up. (action at the moment of speaking)
❏ Don’t sit on that chair! I’m painting it. (action in progress)
❏ I’m working on the monthly report right now.
❏ They’re playing in the garden. I can see them.
● Temporary situations; actions that are going on around now, but not at the actual moment of speaking
❏ At the moment all staff is home-working due to the virus alert.
❏ Mark in living in London now because of the project.
❏ We’re working on the annual budget this week.
❏ My friends are travelling around Europe.
● A repeated event that makes the speaker annoyed or tired
❏ Whenever I see him, he’s resting.
❏ You’re making the same mistake again.
 ❏ You’re always borrowing money from me.
❏ He’s forever interrupting me!
● For changing or developing situations
❏ More people are recycling their waste nowadays.
❏ Companies are opting more and more for green ways of working.

Future time

● To describe plans and arrangements which are definite (time and place have been decided)
❏ He’s flying for Milan in an hour.
❏ We’re meeting the provider in our head office at 3 pm.

State Verbs
State verbs are verbs which do not normally have continuous tenses because they describe a state rather than an
action. These include:

● Verbs which express likes and dislikes: like, love, hate, dislike, enjoy, prefer, etc.
❏ Sue likes romantic films.
❏ We hate crowded places.
● Verbs of perception: believe, know, notice, remember, forget, recognise, understand, realise, seem, think, etc.
❏ I don’t believe a word he’s saying.
❏ I understand your situation, but I can’t do anything right now.
● Verbs of the senses: see, hear, feel, taste, look, smell, sound
❏ This dish tastes delicious.
❏ Your perfume smells wonderfully.
● Notice that we can use these verbs after CAN to refer to what we can experience at the moment of speaking.
❏ Tom must be upstairs because I can hear his footsteps.
❏ I can smell grandma’s apple pie from here.
● Some other verbs include: be, contain, depend, fit, include, matter, need, belong, cost, owe, mean, own,
suppose, appear, seem, want, have (= possess), etc.
❏ This book belongs to Anna.
❏ The syllabus includes the suggested bibliography.
● Some state verbs have continuous forms, but there is a difference in meaning. Compare:
❏ I think she’s Italian (=believe)
❏ I’m thinking about buying a new car. (=considering)
❏ I can see an airplane in the sky. (=perceive with my eyes)
❏ I’m seeing Joshua tonight. (=meeting)

KEY POINTS
 The present simple in general describes facts and habitual actions. The present continuous describes
actions which are still in progress at the time of speaking.
 Many verbs which describe states rather than momentary events can only be used in the simple form.
Many verbs describing mental activities are of this kind.
 Some verbs have both state and event meanings, but the meanings are not the same.
 When describing a photograph, we usually describe the scene as if it is happening now, and use the
present continuous.
  Present tense forms are also used to refer to future time.

Exercises

What’s the best meaning for the following sentences in the Present Simple or Present Continuous tense?

1. I’m seeing Mr Duncan next Monday. a) Future possible plan.

2. Can you stop that noise? I’m studying for an exam! b) Permanent activity.
3. I’m living in Boston now. c) Action at the time of speaking.
4. I’m auditing a brewery these days. d) Future arrangement.
5. I believe in immortality. e) Stative verb.
6. I look after my elderly aunt. f) Fact.
7. I have three brothers. g) Programmed schedule.
8. I’ll look after my aunt when she gets out of hospital. h) Temporary state.
9. We must hurry up! The next train leaves in twenty i) Stative verb.
minutes. j) Action happening in the time around now.
10. Mercosur comprises countries in South America.

Put the verbs in brackets into the present simple or the present continuous form.

A These days, it (1)_____________ (seem) everything (2)_____________ (change). Cities (3)_____________ (become) bigger and busier every
year, technology (4)_____________ (develop) faster than ever before and scientists (5)_____________ (learn) more about the way things work.

B Water (6)_____________ (boil) at 100ºC and (7)_____________ (freeze) when the temperature (8)_____________ (drop) below 0ºC. Salt water
(9)_____________ (be) different, however.

C This film (10)_____________ (be) great! It (11)_____________ (have) an all-star cast and the script (12)_____________ (be) very funny. The
action (13)_____________ (begin) when two young men (14)_____________ (try) to rob a bank.

D Rogers (15)_____________ (kick) the ball and (16)_____________ (pass) it to Jones. Jones (17)_____________ (run) down the pitch,
(18)_____________ (shoot) and (19)_____________ (score)!

Charlie Foster (1)________________ (work) at a bakery. He (2)________________ (get up) very early because he
(3)________________ (start) work at four o’clock every morning. Charlie (4)________________ (not/be) at work this morning. At the
moment he (5)________________ (pack) a suitcase because he (6)________________ (go) on holiday today. Charlie
(7)________________ (sing) to himself. He’s very happy. Right now he (8)________________ (look for) his aeroplane tickets. Where
are they? He can’t find them. There they are; under his bed! Charlie (9)________________ (call) a taxi now. His plane
(10)________________ (leave) in an hour. Where (11)________________ (Charlie/go)? To Hawaii!
…

A: Good morning, Catherine. A special guest (1)_____________ (come) to our hotel today.
B: Really! (2)_____________ (I/know) who it is?
A: I (3)_____________ (think) you do. He (4)_____________ (star) in the TV series ‘Rooftop’, at the moment.
B: It (5)_____________ (be) Paul Roberts, isn’t it? When (6)_____________ (he/come)? I can’t wait to meet him in person!
A: At 3 o’clock this afternoon. But there are a few things you (7)_____________ (need) to know. First of all, he (8)_____________
(love) flowers. He also (9)_____________ (enjoy) having his breakfast in the dining-room, not in his room.
B: Why (10)_____________ (he/stay) at our hotel?
A: Because he (11)_____________ (want) some peace and quiet and he (12)_____________ (not/like) to be disturbed by reporters.
B: I see. Well, let’s hope that everything will be okay while he (13)_____________ (stay) here.
Rewrite each sentence, replacing the underlined words by using one of the verbs from the list
BE COST FEEL HAVE SEE SMELL TASTE HAVE THINK OF HAVE

a) This flower has a wonderful perfume.

b) I think you’re behaving in a very silly way.
c) She is expecting a baby in the summer.
d) Nancy is considering moving to Scotland.
e) Don’t go in. They are holding a meeting.
f) I am meeting Janet this evening actually.
g) Good clothes are becoming more and more expensive.
h) I am just trying the soup to see if it needs more salt.
i) Helen is taking a bath at the moment.
j) I think that you would be happier in another job.

Put each verb in brackets into either the present simple or the present continuous.

Dear Aunt Jean,

I (1)__________________ (just/write) to tell you how much I (2)__________________ (appreciate) the money you sent me, and to tell
you how (3)__________________ (get on) in my first term at university. Actually, I (4)__________________ (really / enjoy) myself!
(5)__________________ (study) quite hard as well, but at the moment (6)__________________ (spend) a lot of time just making friends.
I (7)__________________ (still / stay) with my friend Sue, and I (8)__________________ (look for) somewhere of my own to live. Only
a few of the first-year students (9)__________________ (live) in college here, and I (10)__________________ (seem) to be spending a
lot of time travelling backwards and forwards. I (11)__________________ (go) to lectures every morning, and most afternoons I
(12)__________________ (study) in the library. In fact, I(13)__________________ this email instead of an essay on ‘Hamlet’! I
(14)__________________ (think) I’ll buy some new clothes with the money you sent. Everything (15)__________________ (cost) a lot
here, and I (16)__________________ (save) to buy a winter coat. It (17)__________________ (get) really cold here in the evenings. I
(18)__________________ (know) lots of other students now and generally speaking we (19)__________________ (have) quite a good
time socially! I (20)__________________ (also / learn) to drive.

See you soon,

Kathy.

Complete the text with an appropriate form of the verbs below: present simple or continuous.

OWN - EXPAND - SPONSOR - SPECIALIZE - RESEARCH - HELP - HAVE - PRODUCE - GROW - SELL - BE

REPSOL: A growing presence in Latin America

Repsol _____________ its operations in Latin America at the moment. Following a takeover in 1999, Repsol now ________________
YPF, the biggest industrial company in Argentina. YPF _________________ and sells oil and gas in seven South American countries,
Indonesia and the USA. Repsol also has a 67.86% share in the Argentinian oil company Astra C.A.P.SA., which _______________ in
oil exploration and production.
The new Repsol YPF company ________________ a worldwide production capacity of 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, of which 364,000
barrels are produced in Argentina. As for distribution, Repsol YPF _______________ its petrol in a network of about 3,300 service
stations in Argentina, compared with 800 before. Sales _____________ usually very high in these stations, and the Argentinian petrol
market _______________ very quickly, so the prospects for further expansion are very good. Currently, Repsol YPF
____________________ Latin America to discover its cultural history. It _________________ a special community programme which
_______________ the traditional music of Latin America from the 16th to the 19th century.